إِنَّ لَكَ فِي النَّهارِ سَبحًا طَويلًا
For indeed during the day you have drawn-out engagements.
EXEGESIS
The word sabḥan originally meant movement, going back and forth, turning over, twisting and turning, rolling over and over, and transformation. The word for swimming in Arabic is sibāḥah for it constitutes continuous movement and twisting and turning, and therefore Tabatabai explained the word sabḥan to mean a swift movement in water. It is also reported that sabḥ means vacillation and turmoil, upheaval and disorder. The word sabḥan also means range, scope, opportunity for action, toiling, work, floating, sailing, gliding, fast running, and sweeping ahead. In light of this, Tabatabai opined that drawn-out engagements (sabḥan ṭawīla) is a metaphor to mean the stringent demands of life during the day and the intense comings and goings necessary during it.
The word sabḥan has also been recited as sabkhan, which means expansion and spread as well as tranquillity, peace, and calm. The Prophet is attributed to have said: ‘Fever is from the vehement heat of hell, so cool it (fa sabbikhūhā) with water.’
EXPOSITION
This verse provides yet another reason as to why the night is chosen for the vigil and not the day. The verse argues: O Muhammad, you have many issues to deal with during the day, such as guiding the people, conveying the divine messages, and solving numerous problems, and therefore you have no opportunity to direct your attention solely to God and for His remembrance, so take the night vigil as an opportunity for that. This verse may also mean: you bear during the day many responsibilities entailing lots of hard work, therefore it is necessary for you to betake yourself for the night worship so that you may strengthen your soul thereby, and prepare for the numerous difficult tasks that lie waiting for you in the morning.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Ṭabarī understood this verse to mean that the Prophet has a lot of spare time during the day and such was also the opinion of Qatādah and Ibn Zayd who understood it to mean ‘a lot of spare time for your needs’. This interpretation may be understood to be attested in some of the meanings suggested for this word. It will have been noted previously in the Exegesis section that some of the relevant meanings of sabḥan are range, scope, and opportunity for action.
Ṭabarī records that Ibn Abbas identified the word sabḥan with sleep, and Jubbāʾī also explained the word sabḥan in this verse to mean sleep. This latter interpretation seems to have been inspired by the reported alternative reading of this verse where the word sabḥan is substituted for sabkhan, which does mean sleep. Earlier, the word sabkhan was defined as tranquillity, peace, and calm, all of which are crucial elements of sleep.
It is in light of the above two explanations that the following tradition attributed to Imam al-Bāqir (a) may be appreciated. The Imam is attributed to have explained this verse to mean: you have during the day a lot of spare time for sleep and needs.
Then Ṭabarī concludes that the meaning of verse 7 is that ‘you have ample time during the day for your needs (which would include sleep) and the needs of your people’. He writes that both the words sabḥ and sabkh have meanings that have the same intent here, though Tabatabai felt and wrote that of all these interpretations, the first one is more suitable than all the others.
[1] Amthal, 19/134; Tabrisi, 10/567.
[2] Mizan, 20/64.
[3] Tabrisi, 10/568.
[4] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 416.
[5] Mizan, 20/64.
[6] Tabrisi, 10/567.
[7] Tabrisi, 10/568.
[8] Amthal, 19/134; Tabrisi, 10/571.
[9] Tabari, 29/83.
[10] Tibyan, 10/164.
[11] Hans Wehr, p. 393.
[12] Safi, 5/241.
[13] Tabari, 29/83.
[14] Mizan, 20/64.